Ice skate blade sharpening device

ABSTRACT

An ice skate blade sharpening tool includes a housing possessing a bore enclosing a blade sharpening tool, the housing possessing a slot for its full length for rendering a blade sharpening surface of the blade sharpening tool accessible to a blade to be sharpened; and, a blade sharpening tool within the bore of housing, the blade sharpening tool possessing a succession of arcuate blade cutting edges.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a blade sharpening device and, in particular, to such a device for sharpening the blade of an ice skate.

A variety of hand-held and operated ice skate sharpening devices are known in which the blade sharpening component is a file, honing stone(s) or other abrading element(s). See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,103,597; 5,189,307; 5,383,307; 5,445,050; 5,499,556; 5,704,829; 5,879,229; 5,916,018; 6,030,283; and, 6,726,543.

The ice skate blade sharpening device of U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,543 includes a slotted cylindrical sharpening cartridge which encloses a fixed disc-shaped sharpening blade possessing a single circumferential cutting edge that accomplishes its sharpening action through a fracturing or shearing action. A handle member is attached to the sharpening cartridge to facilitate the use of the device for sharpening an ice skate blade.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide an ice skate blade sharpening device that is sturdy in construction, of low cost to manufacture and easy to use and that minimizes the production of such blade sharpening flaws as flat spots, incorrect radii and chatter marks.

It is another object of the invention to provide an ice skate blade sharpening device possessing a blade sharpening tool featuring successive rows of arcuate blade cutting edges.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide an ice skate blade sharpening device possessing a blade sharpening tool that is capable of limited to-and-fro and/or rotational movement during the ice skate blade sharpening operation.

By way of satisfying the foregoing and other objects of the invention, there is provided an ice skate blade sharpening device which comprises:

-   -   a housing possessing a bore enclosing a blade sharpening tool,         the housing possessing a slot for its full length for rendering         a blade sharpening surface of the blade sharpening tool         accessible to a blade to be sharpened; and,     -   a blade sharpening tool within the bore of the housing, the         blade sharpening tool possessing a succession of arcuate blade         cutting edges.

The ice skate blade sharpening device of this invention in possessing a succession of blade cutting edges in contrast to a single blade cutting edge helps to guide the tool onto the blade eliminating or minimizing any tendency toward producing chatter marks/or flat spots on the blade being sharpened. The forward, or leading, blade cutting edges of the blade sharpening tool produce most of the sharpening action while the rear, or trailing, blade cutting edges guide the blade sharpening tool in the radius that is cut by the forward cutting edges.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of the ice skate blade sharpening device of this invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an end view of the ice skate blade sharpening device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a sectional view of the ice skate blade sharpening device of FIG. 1 taken through line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate, respectively, an enlarged plan view of the blade sharpening tool component of the blade sharpening device of FIGS. 1-3 and a magnified partial sectional view of the blade sharpening tool showing details of its blade cutting edges; and,

FIG. 5 illustrates the use of the ice skate blade sharpening device of FIGS. 1-3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, ice skate blade sharpening device 10 includes a housing 11 which may be surface-contoured, e.g., by circumferential grooves 12, to facilitate gripping. Housing 11 can possess a variety of cross-sectional configurations, e.g., square, rectangular, circular, ovoid, curvilinear, etc. The circular cross-sectional shape of housing 11 shown in FIG. 2 featuring flat portion 21, and therefore the resulting semi-cylindrical configuration of housing 11, is generally preferred for its overall appearance, comfort to the hand, economic use of the material used in its construction and resistance to rolling on a flat surface. The length and cross-sectional dimensions of housing 11 can be varied as desired provided, of course, they result in an ice skate blade sharpening device that is conveniently hand-held and utilized for the ice skate blade sharpening operation. For the device illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the housing may have a length of from about 6 to about 15 centimeters and a diameter of from about 3 to about 6 centimeters.

Housing 11 can be fabricated from any suitable material, e.g. a plastic such as polyamide (nylon), polycarbonate, polypropylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a metal such as steel or aluminum, wood, etc. Housing 11 possesses a bore 13 enclosing blade sharpening tool 14. Blade sharpening tool 14 is preferably elongate, i.e., its length is greater than its maximum cross-sectional dimension. Bore 13 will generally possess a cross-sectional geometry which complements the cross-sectional geometry of blade sharpening tool 14 retained therein. Both ends of bore 13 are capped, or sealed, to prevent an unwanted expulsion of blade sharpening tool 14 from housing 11. Advantageously, one of the ends of bore 13 is capped with a thread-engaging plug, e.g., nut 15, which can be readily removed to allow for the withdrawal of blade sharpening tool 14 for the re-sharpening of its cutting edges or for its replacement.

Blade sharpening tool 14 can possess any of a variety of cross-sectional geometries, e.g., circular as shown in FIGS. 1-3, arcuate on a single blade-sharpening side or on opposed blade-sharpening sides, etc. A circular cross section is preferred as this results in a cylindrical configuration for blade sharpening tool 14. As shown in FIG. 4A, substantially the entire cylindrical surface of blade sharpening tool 14 features circumferential cutting edges. Rotation of the cutting tool within likewise cylindrically configured bore 13 will expose a different section of the tool's cutting edges thus over time making full use of the surface of tool 14 that is available for sharpening an ice skate blade.

Blade sharpening tool 14 preferably has a length somewhat less than that of bore 13 thus leaving space 16 of a few millimeters, e.g., from about 2 to about 5 millimeters, in the bore to allow for to-and-fro, i.e., axial, movement of tool 14 therein during the blade sharpening operation. Unlike the known ice skate blade sharpening devices such as those described in the aforementioned patents in which the blade sharpening element(s) are fixed in place and thus incapable of movement during the blade sharpening operation, the blade sharpening tool in this embodiment of the ice skate blade sharpening device of the invention herein possesses some limited axial movement within its housing. This limited axial movement of the sharpening tool herein has been found to have the desirable effect of minimizing the production of flaws that can occur during the blade sharpening operation. When moving the ice skate blade sharpening device along the blade, the operator's hand may have a tendency to roll somewhat. This rolling action of the hand can cause a fixed sharpening tool to produce flat spots, an incorrect radius or chatter marks. Where, as in this embodiment of the invention, the sharpening tool has some measure of freedom of axial movement, the tool tends to guide itself on the skate blade with greater precision and thus minimize the production of flat spots, an incorrect radius and/or chatter marks.

When blade sharpening tool 14 is configured as a cylinder and bore 13 as a complementary cylinder, a small amount of clearance, e.g., from about 0.2 to about 1.0 millimeters, can be provided between the outer surfaces of the cutting edges of the blade sharpening tool and the inner surfaces of the bore thereby allowing some freedom of rotational movement of the tool within the bore during the blade sharpening operation. In this way, fresh cutting edges 19 of blade sharpening tool 14 may be presented to ice skate blade 18 during the sharpening operation thus allowing for full use of all the blade cutting edges which tool 14 may offer.

Housing 11 of ice skate blade sharpening device 10 possesses a longitudinal slot 17 for its entire length, the slot having a width which is sufficient to provide access of a blade 18 to be sharpened to cutting edges of blade sharpening tool 14. Slot 17 will ordinarily possess a depth which is sufficient to maintain device 10 on track and in general vertical alignment with the skate blade during a blade sharpening pass. A slot depth of from about 6 to about 8 millimeters is suitable in most cases. If desired, the entry point of the skate blade into the slot can be expanded, curved, beveled or chamfered to facilitate the positioning of device 10 onto an ice skate blade for a sharpening pass.

As shown in FIG. 4A, elongate cylindrical blade sharpening tool 14 of ice skate blade sharpening device 10 of FIGS. 1-3 possesses a succession of circumferential blade cutting edges 19 individual ones of which can extend uninterrupted for the full circumference of tool 14 as shown, for only a portion thereof or for an intermittent portion thereof in which case successive blade cutting edges or sections of blade edges can be offset with respect to each other.

Individual blade cutting edges 19 in the series can be separated from each other or they can be provided as a continuous or intermittent helical winding around blade cutting tool 14. The outermost edge, or circumference, of blade cutting edges 19 defines the radius (arc) to be imparted to the edge of the ice skate blade as a result of the sharpening operation. For many ice skate blades, the diameter of cylindrical blade sharpening tool 14 measured from the outermost edges of a blade cutting edge can range from about 10 to about 15 millimeters. The length of blade cutting tool 14 will be determined by the length of the bore that it occupies and the length of any unoccupied bore space. With this in mind, the length of blade cutting tool 14 can range from about 5 to about 10 centimeters. Such lengths can accommodate a succession of from about 15 to about 40 individual circumferential cutting edges. Blade cutting edges 19 are advantageously angled, e.g., 1-2°, relative to the axis of blade cutting tool 14 to eliminate or suppress the production of burrs during sharpening. Blade sharpening tool 14 may be formed in its entirety from a metal or other material that takes and retains a good sharpening edge, e.g., carbide or tool steel. Alternatively, only cutting edges 19 need be formed from such a material. Blade sharpening tool 14 may be formed from a solid piece of material or it may be a hollow cylinder of suitable rigidity, either as a result of its mechanical properties or as a result of having been filled with or occupied by a reinforcing member such as any of the plastics from which housing 11 can be fabricated.

As shown in FIG. 4B, blade cutting edges 19 present chisel-like teeth 20 with triangular shaped grooves 21 therebetween to receive metal fragments produced by the cutting action of blade sharpening tool 14. The orientation of cutting edges 19 relative to an ice skate blade to be sharpened is indicated by the arrow. This orientation may be inscribed, e.g., by an arrow, at a suitable location of the exterior surface of housing 11.

FIG. 5 illustrates the use of ice skate blade sharpening device 10 of FIGS. 1-3 to sharpen ice skate blade 18. As a matter of convenience, the ice skate blade can be wedged between the operator's thighs during the sharpening procedure. The sharpening motion of device 10 is one of a continuous sliding movement of the hand-held device toward its operator with ice skate blade 18 in constant light pressure contact with properly oriented cutting edges 19 of blade sharpening tool 14. A few passes, e.g., from 3 to 5 passes, are made in one direction, e.g., heel-to-toe of the ice skate as shown in FIG. 5, the ice skate is then turned around, and a similar number of passes are made in the opposite direction, e.g., toe-to-heel. This procedure will be repeated as often as necessary or desired to achieve an acceptable sharpened blade effect. Accumulated metal fragments produced during the blade sharpening procedure can be removed from inverted blade sharpening device 10 by light shaking whereupon the fragments will tend to fall from the device through longitudinal slot 17. For evaluation of the progress of the sharpening operation and determination of its completion, housing 11 of device 10 may feature a flat portion 21 (as shown in FIG. 3) against which the arcuate sharpened edge of the ice skate blade may be placed. Light passing through the arcuate edge of the blade provides a visual indication of the degree and configuration of sharpening currently achieved.

Many changes can be made in the above-described invention without departing from the intent and scope thereof. It is thereby intended that the above description be read in the illustrative sense and not in the limiting sense. Solutions can be made in the depth and dimensions stated above and for the wear and other tolerances rendered thereby. 

1. An ice skate blade sharpening device which comprises: a housing possessing a bore enclosing a blade sharpening tool, the housing possessing a slot for its full length for rendering a blade sharpening surface of the blade sharpening tool accessible to a blade to be sharpened; and, a blade sharpening tool within the bore of the housing, the blade sharpening tool possessing a succession of arcuate blade cutting edges.
 2. The device of claim 1 in which the blade sharpening tool possesses an elongate cylindrical configuration and the succession of arcuate blade cutting edges are circumferentially disposed thereon.
 3. The device of claim 2 in which the blade cutting edges are angled relative to the longitudinal axis of the blade sharpening tool.
 4. The device of claim 2 in which each blade cutting edge in the succession of blade cutting edges is totally separated from an adjacent blade cutting edge.
 5. The device of claim 2 in which the blade cutting edges constitute a continuous helical winding around the blade cutting tool.
 6. The device of claim 1 in which the blade cutting edges present a chisel-like configuration to the ice skate blade in the blade sharpening orientation of the tool.
 7. The device of claim 2 in which the blade cutting edges present a chisel-like configuration to the ice skate blade in the blade sharpening orientation of the tool.
 8. The device of claim 3 in which the blade cutting edges present a chisel-like configuration to the ice skate blade in the blade sharpening orientation of the tool.
 9. The device of claim 4 in which the blade cutting edges present a chisel-like configuration to the ice skate blade in the blade sharpening orientation of the tool.
 10. The device of claim 5 in which the blade cutting edges present a chisel-like configuration to the ice skate blade in the blade sharpening orientation of the tool.
 11. The device of claim 1 in which one end of the bore is capped with a thread-engaging plug to permit withdrawal of the blade sharpening tool therefrom.
 12. The device of claim 1 wherein the arc defined by the cutting edges of the blade sharpening tool defines the radius to be imparted to the ice skate blade as a result of the sharpening operation.
 13. The device of claim 2 wherein the arc defined by the circumferential cutting edges of the blade sharpening tool defines the radius to be imparted to the ice skate blade as a result of the sharpening operation.
 14. The device of claim 1 in which the blade sharpening tool possesses limited freedom of axial movement within the housing.
 15. The device of claim 1 wherein the blade sharpening tool is capable of axial movement within the housing of from about 2 to about 5 millimeters.
 16. The device of claim 2 wherein the blade sharpening tool is capable of axial movement within the housing of from about 2 to about 5 millimeters.
 17. The device of claim 16 in which there is sufficient clearance between the outer surfaces of the cutting edges of the blade sharpening tool and the inner surface of the bore to allow rotation of the blade sharpening tool within the bore.
 18. The device of claim 17 wherein there is from about 0.2 to about 1.0 millimeters clearance between the outer surfaces of the cutting edges of the blade sharpening tool and the inner surface of the bore.
 19. The device of claim 1 wherein the housing has a partially circular cross section and a flat section, the longitudinal slot being positioned on the flat section.
 20. The device of claim 1 wherein the housing is surface-contoured to facilitate its gripping. 